Background: An Integrative Approach
My training in integrative medicine began in 1982 when I was 14 years old, working Saturday mornings for my dad, a dentist who believed then, as he does now, that the power of basic nutrition, daily exercise and an ever-curious state-of-mind all contribute significantly to health. He saw these influences at work in his patients and encouraged healing from within whenever possible.
My dad also taught me that in order to work with any human being, I first had to find something to respect in that person. If I couldn't find at least one thing to respect, he said, I didn't belong touching him or her. These lessons stayed with me through an academic career in journalism and cultural anthropology, explorations into yoga and meditation, later work at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, and my years at the University of Wisconsin, where I co-created the university's first course in "Complementary and Alternative Medicine" and a course entitled "The Healer's Art," based on the work of Rachel Remen, MD, at UCSF.
After finishing residency in Family Medicine, a Fellowship in Preventive Oncology and additional post-graduate training Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, I opened a private practice in Madison, WI and co-directed the nation's first HMO-based Complementary Medicine Clinic. This led me to become the Director of Women's Health at the Chopra Center for Wellbeing in San Diego, CA where people came every week to experience the powerful transformations that can occur in a setting devoted to a holistic approach to healing mind, body and spirit.
All of these experiences inform my current work with people who have chronic illnesses including cancer, heart disease, auto-immune disorders, digestive dysfunctions, anxiety, depression and burn out. Together we explore healing options, build experience with self-health techniques and create a road map for staying attuned to good health. Where appropriate, I advise people regarding their options in western medicine and how they may safely and wisely augment their health using foods, herbs, movement, and exersices to strengthen and deepen the mind's capacity for health. The element of "spiritual wellbeing" is, in my book, simply a way to point to one's capacity for wonder, joy, gratitude, humor and acts of kindness. It requires no belief in a particular deity, but rather a belief in humankind--despite all of our short-comings and the complexities we face. This is the spark which teaches us that there is always room for healing.